Hope After All? Ethnic Violence and Democratization in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Ethnic violence and the lack of consolidated democracies have a long history in sub-Sahara African countries. The region’s colonial past, with European colonial powers like Belgium, France, and Great Britain drawing arbitrary borders without consideration for local ethnic groups, has led to a multitude of long and violent ethnic conflicts over the past 150 years (Wade 2007). This colonial history full of ethnic conflict has also meant that the region is prone to authoritarianism (Badru 2010; see also Horowitz 1993). In the present, neocolonial powers continue to exploit the region and the people within it by extracting its resources and controlling the region’s economy (Kieh 1996). Given the history of the region and the already existing research examining not only the relationship between ethnic conflict and democratization (Dahl 1971; Horowitz 1993), but also the effect of democratic systems on managing ethnic conflict (Lijphart 1977 and 1991; Horowitz 1985; Cohen 1997; Selway and Templeman 2012), this paper will investigate the question “what is the relationship between the presence of ethnic conflict and democratic transition?” and posit the directionality to be negative between ethnic violence and democratic transition, using sub-Sahara African countries during the period 1990-2013 as cases